Dining with one eye on your carbon - 7th October 2022

Dining at this restaurant in southwest England, you'll be faced with an ethical dilemma, not only will you be deliberating the price or calories, but also the carbon footprint of your meals.

In July 2022, “The Canteen” established itself as the first in the UK to present menus with carbon footprints, in a campaign spearheaded by UK Vegan campaigning charity Viva, hoping to kickstart a change in eating habits.

Viva's campaign manager, Laura Hellwig.

Laura Hellwig: "I think people are a lot more aware nowadays that the climate crisis is here and that they have to act. And obviously, we hope, we're urging the government to act by for example, implementing carbon counting. But it's also really important that people know people power's a big, big driver for change."

Being predominantly vegan, The Canteen concocts mouthwatering creations such as carrot and beetroot pakora with yoghurt sauce contributing a mere 16 grams of CO2 emissions. Compared to a UK produced burger, which has a massive carbon impact of three kilograms of CO2, it's crystal clear what the climate friendly choice would be.

What impressions do customers have when presented with menus containing carbon footprint information?

Enyioma Anomelechi.

Enyioma Anomelechi: "I think it's interesting. However, when I go out to eat, I normally go out for enjoyment, right? But if you could tell me, what, if I went shopping for example, eating at home - what my carbon footprint was for my shop, I'd be much more inclined to change what's in my shopping basket."

Sourcing most of its goods regionally, the restaurant's confident that that, paired with a vegetarian menu, will ensure a low carbon footprint for dishes, moreover, taking into account farming, processing and packaging, a specialist company measured the impact of each dish; cradle to store.

On a night out, Nathan Johnson checked out the menu.

Nathan Johnson: "I think that's quite useful. I think it might, if I was choosing between two dishes, maybe depending on how hungry I was, I might choose the one with a lower, lower footprint, just you know, it's useful to see."

But, all in all, is this actually influencing what diners opt for on the day?

Customer Sally Wright.

Sally Wright: "It wouldn't necessarily change how I ordered. But it would be interesting because I think it would strike up conversation when you're ordering, like over your table, which might then change your decisions when you're going shopping in the future."